Consolidated voicemail platform

ABSTRACT

A voicemail system for providing voicemail services to a secure facility. An embodiment of the voicemail system includes an internet router provided at a facility for communicating with a call processing center that is located outside the facility. A database at the call processing center stores voicemail messages, a call interface receives and stores voicemail messages for residents of the facility, a resident interface provides a plurality of residents of the facility with access to the stored voicemail messages via a telephone located at the facility, and a web server provides a plurality of authorized users access to the stored voicemail messages via a website.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described herein relate generally to voicemail technology,and more specifically to providing a consolidated voicemail system on acentralized call platform for a secure facility.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Voicemail systems are used to store and retrieve voice messages, such astelephone voice messages. Developed initially for large corporations,voicemail technology has since expanded to small businesses andindividual cellular and residential subscribers. Voicemail systems maybe large centralized systems that mange a high volume of telephonemessages for a business, or may be smaller systems, such as an answeringmachine in a home or a voice mailbox accessible by a cellular telephonesubscriber.

More recently, large volume corporate voicemail has been significantlyimproved by the introduction of voice over IP (VoIP) technology, whichimplemented a standard for transmitting voice over the Internet. VoIPtechnology enables centralization to shared severs and the ability toremotely manage enterprise accounts. It also enables users to accessinformation from various devices including smart telephones, and laptopcomputers. The transition from legacy telephony technologies to IP(Internet Protocol) telephony has enabled greater flexibility,manageability, lower costs, reliability and speed in voicemailtechnology.

Voicemail has become a commonplace technology, and has recently includedcertain rudimentary security features, such as requiring a password toretrieve messages. Contemporary voicemail systems, however, lack certainadditional security and accountability features required in securefacilities such as, e.g., government detention and treatment locationsand other similar institutions. Even VoIP based systems do not providemany of the features required for secure facilities.

Voicemail is a potentially valuable service for secure facilities such aprisons and other government detention centers. Many facilities do nothave sufficient staff to transcribe the phone messages, or do not allowthe staff to do so for security reasons. Accordingly, writtencommunication via the postal service is the primary means ofcommunication between facility residents and outside friends and family.All mail must be opened, reviewed, screened for toxins, and delivered—aslow, unreliable, labor-intensive and expensive process. It is alsodifficult to archive and index this information for investigators.Voicemail systems can provide secure facilities with a fast and easypassage of essential information, if they could only provide thesecurity and accountability features necessary for the environment.Thus, there exists a need for a voicemail system that provides securityand accountability features suited for secure facilities such asprisons, government detention and treatment facilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the central call platform.

FIG. 2 illustrates the organization and interaction of clusters of acentral call platform.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of the consolidated voicemailplatform and equipment used to provide access to an outside caller.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for leaving avoicemail message for a resident of a secure facility.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for conducting aresident name search.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of the voicemail platform andequipment used to provide access to a resident.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for retrievingvoicemail messages.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example embodiment of the voicemail platform andequipment used to provide access to a web interface of the voicemailplatform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described herein address the problems with current voicemailsystems for secure facilities such as prisons or other governmentdetention centers. The described embodiments provide a customized andconsolidated voicemail platform for inmate telephones that extendstraditional voicemail with the features required by secure facilities.Among other things, the described embodiments provide for the recordingand archiving of all messages, and the review of recorded messages forinvestigation purposes.

Embodiments may be implemented using computer hardware or software, or acombination of both. Computer software implementing features of theembodiments may be stored as instructions on a tangible computerreadable medium. References to the “system” or “platform” describespecific embodiments and do not limit the scope of the claimedinvention.

Though embodiments are described with reference to facilities such asprisons or detention facilities, the embodiments described herein couldbe used in any facility requiring consolidated security andaccountability in a voicemail messaging solution.

It should be understood that embodiments of the invention are notlimited by the example embodiments described herein and that changes canbe made thereto. Example embodiments are now described with reference tothe accompanying Figures wherein like reference numbers are usedconsistently for like features throughout the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an example a central call platform25. The platform 25 includes a call processing center 150 connected toone or more facilities 100 through a network such as, e.g., the Internet190. Facilities 100 may be any facilities requiring telephone service,especially those with security requirements and a large call volume,including secure facilities such as prisons or other governmentdetention facilities. At each facility 100, there are telephones 102that may be standard telephones connected using traditional telephonecommunications links 110, such as full duplex wiring for voicecommunications used in the “plain-old telephone service” (“POTS”)standard. Alternatively, the telephones 102 could be digital telephonesthat communicate over a digital network or communication link, forexample using an Ethernet connection and a power source provided by astandard outlet or as Power-Over-Ethernet. In the FIG. 1 example, thetelephones 102 are analog and communicate via POTS.

Each telephone 102 at the secure facility 100 is connected to ananalog-to-digital (“A/D”) converter 103. A/D converters 103 convert ananalog signal (such as a POTS signal) to a digital signal fortransmission over digital networking links 120 (such as, e.g., Ethernetconnections). The A/D converters 103 may, for example, be ADTRAN TotalAccess 900 series single T1 IP business gateways designed for carrierVoIP networks. The A/D converters 103 may output a signal usingproprietary protocols for voice communications, or may use standardprotocols, such as voice over IP (VoIP) protocols Session InitiationProtocol (“SIP”), Inter-Asterisk eXchange (“IAX”), and Real-timeTransport Protocol (“RTP”).

The A/D converters 103 are each connected to a router 104 via anetworking link 120. The routers 104 are configured to communicate withthe call processing center 150, which may be distributed across severallocations. The routers 104 each connect the communications received viathe A/D converters 103 to the Internet 190, and exchange IP (InternetProtocol) packets bidirectionally between the call processing center 150and facility 100.

The telephones 102, A/D converters 103, and routers 104 may all bephysically located at a facility 100. Calls placed from a facilitytelephone 102 are converted by the A/D converters 103 and transmittedvia the routers 104 to the call processing center 150. The callprocessing center 150 includes application hardware and software forcall processing and other functions described below.

The call processing center 150 is a system that is distributed acrossmultiple clusters 151-153, which may or may not be geographicallydiverse (described below in more detail). Each cluster 151-153 hostsmultiple nodes, including an application node, a database node, and acall processing node (discussed below in relation to FIG. 2). Theclusters 151-153 communicate with each other via the Internet ordedicated connections, and information in any database node can beshared among the clusters 151-153. Data storage and retrieval can beperformed across several clusters. The clusters 151-153 can also providefail-over for one another, and routers 104 at each facility may beconfigured to communicate with another cluster if a primary cluster isunavailable. Similarly, resources of the nodes within a cluster (whichmay include multiple computers) can be reallocated as processing needsrequire.

The call processing center 150 routes telephone calls from facilitytelephones 102 to their ultimate destinations 180, 181. To accomplishthis, the call processing center 150 communicates via internet protocolto a “VoIP-to-POTS” provider 160, which converts VoIP communications toPOTS communications. Example VoIP-to-POTS providers 160 include Paetech,Level 3, and Verizon. After converting the VoIP signal to a POTS signal,the VoIP-to-POTS provider 160 provides the communication to atelecommunications provider 170 that routes the call to the calledparties 180, 181.

The call processing center 150 may be in communication with multipleVoIP-to-POTS providers 160, and may route communications to any one ofthe providers 160 based on various factors including time-of-day, load,or rates. Similarly, the call processing center 150 or the VoIP-to-POTSprovider 160 may route calls to various telecommunications providers 170based on factors including time-of-day, load, or rates. For example,VoIP-to-POTS providers 160 often have connection limits. Therefore, thecall processing center 150 may be configured to first attempt aconnection to a primary VoIP-to-POTS provider 160 with a low rate for agiven call destination. If that connection is refused, then the callprocessing center 150 would be configured to attempt connections to asecond, and perhaps third VoIP-to-POTS provider 160 until a connectionis established.

The call processing center 150 can also receive calls from outsideparties 180, 181 and route the calls to facility telephones 102. TheVoIP-to-POTS provider 160 may convert the POTS signal to a VoIP signalbefore the communication is sent to the call processing center 150.Alternatively, although not shown in FIG. 1, the outside callers 180,181 may place a call using the traditional telecommunications provider170 and may be directly connected to the call processing center 150where the signal is converted using an A/D converter similar to the A/Dconverters 103 used at the facilities 100. The call processing centercan connect outside callers 180, 181 to residents and can also allowoutside callers 180, 181 to leave voicemail messages.

When an outside caller 180, 181 is connected to a call processing center150, they are presented with an interactive voice response (IVR) system,which is a computerized system that plays recordings prompting users toinput information via voice, telephone touch tones, or other availableinput methods. The call processing center 150 uses the automatic numberinformation (ANI) within the call, similar to caller ID, to identify theoutside caller 180, 181, and any resident associated with that caller.The call processing center 150 associates residents with an outsidecaller 180, 181 when a resident calls the number, or when an outsidecaller 180, 181 adds funds to a resident's account.

The IVR system of the call processing center 150 asks an outside caller180, 181 if they would like to leave a voicemail or call the residentassociated with the callers caller ID. If there are no associatedresidents, then the outside caller 180, 181 may be transferred to acustomer service operator, who will assist them. If more than oneresident is associated with a caller, the IVR system enables selectionof a particular resident.

If an outside caller indicates that they wish to place an incoming call,the call processing center 150 checks criteria including: (1) whetherthe facility allows incoming calls; (2) whether calls are allowed at thepresent time; (3) whether the resident has permission to receiveincoming calls; (4) whether the outside caller 180, 181 has permissionto call the particular resident; (5) whether the system knows thecurrent location of the resident; and (6) whether the caller hassufficient funds to complete the call. If the criteria fail, the calleris notified via IVR, and a reason for failure may be noted. The outsidecaller 180, 181 may then be asked to leave a voicemail. If the callfails due to insufficient funds, the caller may be asked to add funds.

If the call is allowed, the call processing center 150 will connect tothe facility 100 via the Internet 19, and will play a distinctive ringon a telephone 102 in the resident's current location. The ring may beone of multiple different available rings, and each resident may beassigned a different ring. If all phones are in use, the outside caller180, 181 will hear an IVR message notifying them that all phones arecurrently in use, and they will be asked to leave a voicemail message.

If a phone in the resident's location is answered, a message will playfor the resident requesting that the resident enter their uniquepersonal identification number (PIN) (e.g., “This is an incoming callfor <NAME>. If you are <NAME> please enter your PIN now.”). The messageplays for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 60 seconds) and if thePIN number is not entered correctly in this time, the message willterminate and the outside caller 180, 181 will be asked if they wish toleave a voicemail. If the telephone 102 is placed back on hook, theincoming call is terminated and the outside caller is asked if they wishto leave a voicemail. If the resident successfully keys in their PIN andpasses a secondary voice verification step (which matches the resident'svoice with a pre-recorded voice ID), the outside call is connected.

All incoming calls are processed through the same call processing center150 as an outgoing call. This enables the enforcement of all existingrules regulating resident communications at each facility, such asrecording, monitoring, time limits, schedule, and three way calldetection. The call processing center 150 allows incoming calls to becompleted at rates that are the same as outgoing calls, or different,depending on facility preference or other factors.

The use of a call processing center 150 allows one incoming number to beused to call any resident at any facility that allows the feature. Anoutside caller 180, 181 that communicates with multiple residents atmultiple facilities is able to make calls to, and leave voicemails for,any resident by calling the same number. The system can be configured toprevent abuse and fraud by, for example, only allowing residents whohave contacted a destination number to receive calls from that number.

The call processing center 150 can be configured to log all attempts toreach a resident via an incoming call even when a call does not succeed.These attempts can be associated both with the resident's record andwith the outside caller's record. This enhances security and facilitiesinvestigations. Incoming calls can be set to trigger alerts just asoutgoing calls can, allowing investigators to be notified if aparticular outside caller 180, 181 attempts to contact a resident, or ifa resident receives and incoming call.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing the organization and interaction ofclusters of another example central call platform 225. FIG. 2illustrates multiple facilities 200, each connected to the Internet 290via a router 204. The facilities 200 communicate, via the Internet 290,with a call processing center 250 that is made up of multiple callclusters 251-254.

FIG. 2 illustrates a first call processing cluster 251 in location A, asecond call processing cluster 252 in location B, a third callprocessing cluster 253 in location C, and a fourth call processingcluster 254 in location D. The call processing clusters 251-254 togetheroperate as the call processing center 250, and each cluster may includeone or many computers functioning together to perform various tasks. Thecall processing clusters 251-254 may be located in different geographicregions, and one or more of the call processing clusters 251-254 mayfunction as backup clusters or overflow clusters, operating only whenother clusters are unavailable or overloaded.

The routers 204 at each facility 200 may be configured to routecommunications for a particular facility to a predetermined callprocessing cluster, and may be set to route communications to anothercall processing cluster if the predetermined call processing cluster isunavailable. Alternatively, the routers 204 may be configured todistribute communications across multiple processing clusters accordingto a predetermined ratio (described below). These two configurations maybe used alternatively or in conjunction with one another, and their usecould be determined based on the traffic load on a network.

The routers 204 may also be configured to route communications overmultiple outbound network connections at each facility 200. The router204 may be configured to use a second network connection when a firstnetwork connection is unavailable. For example, a facility may beserviced (i.e., communication with the outside world) by a DSL line anda T1 line, and the DSL line may be used as a backup when the T1 linebecomes unavailable. As mentioned above, a router 204 may also beconfigured to distribute communications across multiple networkconnections according to a predetermined ratio. For example, if afacility is serviced by multiple T1 lines, the router 204 may beconfigured to distribute the call-data load across the T1 lines to asingle cluster, or multiple clusters, allowing a large capacity of callsto be carried simultaneously. These configurations may be usedalternatively or in conjunction with one another, and their use could bedetermined based on the traffic load on the network.

Each call processing cluster 251-254 includes multiple nodes eachperforming various functions. A call processing cluster may be onecomputer that is divided into virtual servers, each of which is treatedas a node in the cluster. Alternatively, each node may be a dedicatedcomputer, or multiple computers can form each node. Servers can be addedas necessary to increase capacity of the cluster.

An example cluster for use in a secure facility is now described. Securefacilities, such as prisons, have unique features that must be addressedby the central call platform 225. For example, residents have limitedaccess to cash, and so the central call platform provides various waysof paying for telephone access. An account is established for eachresident, and funding of the account is provided via kiosks, callingcards, and an interactive voice response system. Provisioning foroutside funding may also be desirable. Accordingly, the platform 225 mayprovide for funding of an account by an outside party via live customerservice, an interactive voice response system, a website, or kiosks invisiting areas of the facilities.

The central call platform 225 may also allow collect calls to be placedby residents. A common problem with collect call systems is that,because a called party may not recognize the number or know whatindividual from the facility is calling, there must be a way for aresident to identify themselves. In traditional collect call systems, anindividual may be allowed to record their name to be played to a calledparty. This, however, can permit the transmission of a short messagewithout payment for use of the system. Accordingly, the call platform225 may instead retrieve and play an audio clip of the inmates name thatwas recorded under supervision, or that was recorded by another party,or generated by a voice synthesizer.

System accounts must be tied to particular facility residents and mustbe only accessible by those facility residents. To accomplish this, theplatform 225 may require a resident, upon accessing the system, to entera unique PIN number that is associated with the resident. Additional PINnumbers may be required to access voicemail or other secure features.The central call center 250 may also include voice recognition features,requiring a resident to state its name to authenticate his/her identity.

Secure facilities also often place restrictions on the communications ofresidents. Accordingly, the central call platform 225 is able toautomatically restrict a resident from making calls to certain numbersbased on restrictions noted in the residents' accounts. Similarly, thecentral call platform 225 prevents outside callers from leavingvoicemail messages for inmates that are restricted from communicatingwith the outside caller. The central call platform 225 may also placetime limits on calls, and may include audio warnings that a call may becut off due to time restrictions.

Secure facilities also require call logging and monitoring capabilities.The logging may include storing information such as when the call wasmade, to whom, and how long the call lasted. Full audio recording ofcalls may also be necessary in prisons, for example, where virtually allcalls need to be recorded and retrieved by investigators. Investigatorsmay also need to monitor live calls. These functions can be automated bythe central call platform 225. The central call platform 225 may also beset to not record certain calls, such as calls between an inmate and hisattorney. This can be automated by including attorney numbers on a“do-not-record” list for the system or resident's account or byproviding an option to request that a call not be recorded via aninteractive voice response system. The request may be reviewed by a livecall operator for authenticity, or may be logged for further review todetect abuse.

Many of these features are implemented using an IVR system provided bythe call processing center 250. A facility resident may, for example,add funds to an account, make a call using funds, make a collect call,leave messages for administrators of a secure facility or customerservice, or access a voicemail inbox.

Each call processing cluster 251-254 includes a call processing node256. The call processing node 256 hosts an automated operator, audiorouting, and audio recording functionality. The call processing node 256is also responsible for digital signal processing. The automatedoperator may be an IVR system. Audio routing and recording may be usedto process and route calls to destination parties, or to record andretrieve voicemail messages or call records. The call processing node210 may be one or many computers functioning together to form the node.

The call processing node 256 is responsible for routing calls totelecommunications providers 270. A distributed carrier system allowsclusters to access multiple VoIP-to-POTS providers 260 andtelecommunications providers 270 to terminate any call. If one carrieris overloaded, the call processing node 256 will seek the next availablecarrier based on a set of predefined rules that govern priority.Priority can be set based on factors such as rate, time of day, calltermination point, and carrier load. The call processing node 256 mayoptionally track the number of connections sent to a single carrier, andautomatically route calls to a different carrier based on the carrierload. Call processing administrators can adjust the priority at any timevia a single, dedicated interface.

Each call processing cluster 251-254 includes an application node 257.The application node 257 hosts payment validation, security, userinterface, and business logic functionality. Business logicfunctionality includes all the rules governing a call. This couldinclude, for example, fraud prevention and protection, schedule limitsdefined per resident, facility, phone, or destination number, or alarmsfor triggering investigation. The application node 257 is alsoresponsible for implementing rules related to call acceptance, blocking,and recording. The application node 257 can be accessed by authorizedusers via a web page. By accessing the application node, administratorsand investigators 240 can retrieve recorded calls, and can reviewrecords and adjust settings, such as calling or voicemail permissionsfor facility residents. Customer service personnel 241 can also use aweb page to review issues reported by facility residents or outsidecallers. The application node 257 may be one or many computersfunctioning together to form the node.

Each call processing cluster 251-254 also includes a database node 258.The database node hosts settings for the business logic functionality.The database node 258 also stores indexed call logs, call recordings,voicemail recordings, and settings for individual residents andfacilities. The database node 258 may be one or many computersfunctioning together to form the node. The database nodes 258 at eachcall processing cluster 251-254 may replicate some or all of the data atanother database node. Since some facilities may impose rules regardingthe geographic location where their data is stored, the call processingcluster 251-254 may include rules that define the data that thedatabases will replicate for each facility.

Call processing clusters 251-254 are connected to a communicationsnetwork and to one another via smart load balancers 255. The smart loadbalancers 255 may be configured to communicate with one another over theInternet or through a dedicated communications network or link. Thesmart load balancers 255 may be configured to communicate toperiodically update status information stored at each smart loadbalancer. The smart load balancers 255 can accordingly redirect incomingcommunications received from routers 204 based on the availability orload on a particular call processing cluster, and can redirect outgoingcommunications based on the responsiveness of a provider network.

Call processing clusters 251-254 can also share and retrieve data fromone another directly via a communications link or over the Internet. Forexample, if a user at Facility A makes a request for voicemail, and therequest has been routed to call processing cluster 251, but the actualrecording is stored on call processing cluster 252, cluster 251 canretrieve the audio from cluster 252 for playback. Similarly, aninvestigator listening to call recordings via the web site interface canbe communicating with the application node 257 using any call processingcluster 251-254 and can retrieve call recordings from any cluster.Voicemail and call recordings can be stored at multiple geographicallydiverse locations and may be backed up at separate locations forredundancy. A call processing cluster 251-254 can identify a storagelocation of call data by referencing a cluster identifier that isincluded with each piece of call data in a database node 258.Accordingly, the databases storing audio do not need to be replicatedacross clusters (though they can be).

The multiple call processing clusters 251-254 provide full clusterfail-over. That is, if one of the call processing clusters 251-254fails, the routers 204 at the facilities are configured to automaticallyseek and connect to another cluster. Similarly, the smart load balancers255 are configured to redirect incoming and/or outgoing communicationswhen a particular cluster 251-254 is unavailable or non-responsive. Inboth instances, the other cluster can take over call processing dutiesand allow communications to continue. Using multiple computers at eachnode of a cluster ensures that, if a single node in the cluster fails,another node can take over all of the functions of the failed node.Resources of a node in a cluster may be reallocated based on processingrequirements. This all happens seamlessly without affectingconfigurations at the facilities 200 or the routers 204.

The described central call platforms include numerous advantages overexisting platforms. The described platforms require minimalfacility-hosted equipment, generally limited to the telephonesthemselves, an A/D converter, and a router or VoIP gateway. The routeror VoIP gateway can reroute all audio originating or terminating at thetelephone to the central call platform.

By removing the call processing center 150, 250 from the facility 100,200 and distributing it across multiple clusters, sensitive computerhardware can be housed in special environmentally controlled and securehosting environments that may be geographically dispersed. Clusters ofcomputer hardware can operate independent of one another, allowing forredundancy and failovers. If a cluster completely fails, anotherfunctional cluster can take over all computing processes. Additionally,an individual cluster is redundant within itself, so that should anynode of the cluster fail, resources can be reallocated to perform therequired functions of the node.

Computing clusters can handle large volumes of call traffic frommultiple locations more effectively than non-cluster solutions. This isa result of clusters being able to adapt to call load and expandcapacity as needed. The resources within a cluster 251-254 can also beadjusted dynamically as service needs require. For example, if a callprocessing node 256 becomes overloaded, resources can be redirected fromanother node. This applies across clusters 251-254 as well; if a clusterstarts to come under heavy load or become nonresponsive, connectedclients can be shifted to a different cluster.

Multiple clusters also facilitate maintenance and expansion, as theyallow operations at a single location to be interrupted for planned orunplanned servicing without bringing down communications. Clusters allownear limitless scalability as service needs expand. This can beaccomplished by increasing computing capacity of the cluster, with nodowntime. This also leads to hardware cost savings as service capacitycan be increased with minimal hardware investment. Services within acluster can be upgraded, or computing capacity added without affectingservice availability. Higher uptime results in enhanced revenue. Fastreplacement and maintenance is facilitated by having service personneland replacement equipment in close proximity to a small number ofcluster locations.

A voicemail platform used in a secure facility has unique requirements.The voicemail platform must be able to identify a particular residentusing the telephone so that each resident can only access their ownvoicemail box. The voicemail platform must also be able to providerestrictions on use by residents, so that the facility can blockcommunications between a resident and certain outside parties.Provisioning for payment by callers and residents on a per-message basismay also be provided. Additionally, all voicemails must be logged andarchived so that facility administrators can retrieve and reviewmessages. The voicemail platform may also provide other advantageousfeatures such as centralized management, scalability, and distributionof processing. These and other requirements are fulfilled by embodimentsof the voicemail platform now described with reference to FIGS. 3-8.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a consolidated voicemail platform399 and equipment used to access the voicemail platform by an outsidecaller 301 (i.e., a non-resident of the facility). The voicemailplatform 399 includes resources provided at a call processing center 150which may be distributed across multiple clusters 151-153 (FIG. 1). Thecall processing center 150 provides a global database 358, which can bespread across the clusters 151-153 of the call processing center 150.Since the clusters 151-153 are in communication with one another, theindividual databases at the clusters 151-153 may be used to provideinformation physically located at one call processing center to usersaccessing a call processing center at another location. Among otherthings, the global database 358 includes call recordings and relatedinformation 380, voicemail recordings and related information 382,information on the configuration for a facility 383, and informationabout a resident 384, including calling permissions, all organized by anindex 381. The call processing center 150 also provides an IVR interface330, which can be accessed by outside callers 301. The IVR interface 330provides access to customer service 360, a voicemail interface 361, andan accounts interface 362.

An outside caller 301 accesses the voicemail platform 399 using aconventional telephone or cellular telephone through a POTS provider370. Once connected, the outside caller 301 is greeted by an IVR menuprovided by the IVR interface 330, which presents the outside caller 301with the options available on the voicemail platform 399. The caller canselect an option using number keys on its telephone, voice commands, orany other suitable IVR interaction method. The equipment providing theIVR interface 330, and all other equipment of the voicemail platform399, may be located at a call processing cluster 151-153 of a callprocessing center 150, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The voicemail platform 399 is unified across multiple facilities, sooutside callers 301 associated with residents at any one of multiplefacilities can call a single phone number for service. This phone numberalso allows the outside caller 301 to leave voicemails for residents atany of the facilities serviced by the voicemail platform 399. Thedistributed nature of the voicemail system and the call processingcenter 150 allows voicemails to be stored on one cluster of the callprocessing center 150 and reviewed via another. This all happensseamlessly without notice to the end user.

A single call-in number allows the outside caller 301 to check accountbalances, search and locate facility residents by country, state,facility, and name, record voicemails for residents, add funds to anaccount via credit card, and contact customer service. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the outside caller 301 can, via the POTS provider 370 and IVRinterface 330, contact customer service 360, accounts 362, or thevoicemail interface 361. Accessing customer service 360 will place theoutside caller 301 in contact with live customer service personnel toanswer questions and provide services to the outsider caller 301. Anoutside caller 301 accessing the voicemail interface 361 is givenadditional prompts to enable the caller to record voicemail messages forresidents of the facility. Voicemail messages are stored at the globaldatabase 358.

The accounts interface 362 option allows the outside caller 301 to addfunds to a resident calling account, or to the outside caller's owncalling account (used primarily to leave voicemail messages). Theaccounts interface 362 also enables the outside caller 301 to accessinformation on bail balances. When the outside caller 301 connects tothe IVR interface 330, the system attempts to match the outside caller'stelephone number to a resident that has called the number in the past bysearching records in the global database 358. If any of the identifiedresidents have active bail information (also located in the globaldatabase 358) it will be read back by the IVR interface 330 by anautomated voice. After reading the bail amount, the system will allowthe caller to pay the bail amount over the phone via a credit card, orbe connected to live customer service to pay the bail amount via anotherpayment method. It should be appreciated that by avoiding manuallylocating the amount of a resident's bail, valuable resources of thefacility are freed.

To provide fast routing of calls and other services, the global database358 stores records including destination phone numbers called byresidents, residents associated with a destination, accounts forresidents and destinations, facilities associated with a destination,facilities associated with a resident, and other information. The globaldatabase 358 is used for all facilities, but at the same time preservesthe security and integrity according to specific facility requirements.The centralization of these services for many facilities increasesefficiency and scalability.

Consolidating services for multiple facilities also enables a voicemailprovider to support the facilities using a centralized user interface.For example, the centralized IVR interface 330 allows outside callers tocall a single number to leave voicemail messages or perform other tasks.A centralized web interface (discussed in more detail below) enables theprovider, administration officials, and customer service to search,locate, and listen to recorded messages or access other storedinformation regardless of the individual or facility. This enablesshared support services across multiple facilities.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process 400 by which an outsidecaller 301 leaves a voicemail message for an inmate or other resident ofthe facility. At step 401, the outside caller 301 calls into thevoicemail system, and is presented with an IVR menu. The outside caller301 may use any telephone communications method to access the platform.For example, the caller may call the telephone number associated withthe facility's voicemail system. When the caller is connected to thesystem, the system checks the global database 358 to determine if thecalling phone number (detected using the automatic number information(ANI) within the call—similar to the “caller ID” process) has previouslyleft a voicemail for a resident of any of the secure facilities servicedby the voicemail platform (step 402). If there is no match, the outsidecaller 301 is presented with the resident name search prompt (step 415)The resident name search process is described in more detail below inreference to FIG. 5.

If there is a match at step 402, the system checks the global database358 to determine whether the resident matched to the outside caller 301has permission to receive voicemail messages from the calling party(step 403). If the resident does not have permission, the system checksto see if there is another resident name associated with the callingparty (step 416). If there are no other names available, then theoutside caller 301 is presented with the resident name search prompt(step 415). If another name is available, the system returns to step 403to determine whether the next named resident has permission to receivevoicemail messages from the caller.

If there is permission and a resident record associated with the outsidecaller's number, a recording of the resident's name will play at step404, and the IVR system will prompt the caller to confirm that this isthe correct resident. If the caller responds that this is not thecorrect resident (step 405), the system proceeds to step 416 to againcheck for other associated resident records.

If the outside caller 301 affirms that the correct resident has beenselected (step 405), the system may include an authorization step 406,where the outside caller must enter a PIN associated with the identifiedresident to proceed. The PIN verification can be enabled or disabled,and entry of the PIN may be required before an outside caller 301 isallowed to leave voicemail for a resident. This protects the integrityof the accounts that are identified in step 402. If a PIN is requiredand not entered, the process 400 terminates the call (not shown). As anexample, the process could continue at step 418 (discussed below).

Next, at step 407, the system determines whether there are sufficientfunds in the caller's account to leave a voicemail message. Voicemailmessages may be charged on a per-message basis. The system may includedifferent rates for different facilities, and the global database storesinformation on the rates of different facilities. If sufficient fundsare not in the account (step 408), the outside caller 301 is directed toa credit card IVR menu (step 417) to add funds to the account. Once thecaller has added money using the credit card IVR menu at step 417, or ifthere are already sufficient funds at step 408, then the caller will bequoted the cost of the voicemail message and will be asked to accept thecharge (step 409). If the charge is denied, an exit prompt will bepresented to the caller, or the caller may be returned to the main menuof the IVR (step 418). If the charge is accepted (at step 410), thecaller will be allowed to leave a voicemail message at step 411.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, various options may be presented after anoutside caller finishes leaving a voicemail message at step 411. Forexample, the caller may hang up, press a number to listen to therecording, erase the recording and start again, or cancel the recording.If a voicemail is canceled, funds will not be deducted from the caller'saccount.

Once a voicemail is recorded, it is stored in the global database 358 ofthe cluster 151-153 of the call processing center 150 serving theresident's facility. The database is updated to reflect that thevoicemail is available and has not yet been played. The voicemail isassociated with the resident's account, and will be available for reviewby investigators or customer servers representatives. The billing systemdeducts the price of the voicemail from the calling parties account, andbilling records are updated to indicate the deduction.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process 500 for a resident namesearch, which may be carried out, for example, at step 415 of the FIG. 4process or any other time the system must match a resident with anoutside caller. When a resident name search is initiated by the outsidecaller 301 via the IVR prompts or step 415 (FIG. 4), the user isrequested to enter a state abbreviation (step 501). As with all IVRvoice prompts, entry can be performed via a telephone keypad, voicecommand, or other input method. Once the state is entered by the outsidecaller 301, the system will determine if there is a facility in thestate that has been entered (step 502). If not, the outside caller 301is transferred to a customer service queue at step 503. If a facility isidentified, the name of the facility is played via the IVR interface,and the caller is asked to confirm that this is the correct facility(step 504). If the response of the caller is that this is not thecorrect facility (no at step 505) the system (at steps 506-507) willdetermine whether there are other facilities in the state, and announcethe names of these facilities to the caller. If no additional facilitiesare identified, or if the caller indicates that none of the facilitiesare the correct facility, they will be placed in the customer servicequeue (step 503).

Once the caller has identified the correct facility (step 505), thesystem performs a similar process to identify the resident. That is, atstep 508, the caller is requested to enter a resident name. The systemchecks for matching names (step 509) and, if there is a match, thesystem determines whether the resident has permission to receive callsfrom this caller (step 510). If there is no match at step 509, theresident is placed in the customer service queue (step 503). The calleris also placed into the customer service queue (step 503) if theresident does not have permission to receive calls (at step 511). Ifthere is a match (at step 510) and the resident does have permission (atstep 511), the IVR interface will play the resident's name and ask thecaller if this is the correct name (step 512). If the caller indicatesthat this is not the correct name (no at step 513), the system willproceed to check for other matching names (step 514), select one ofthese names (step 515) and then check permissions for the other name(step 510). If the caller identifies this as the correct name (step513), the system will, at step 516, return to the process that began theresident name search, such as e.g., the authorization step 406 of FIG.4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the voicemail platform 399 andequipment used when an inmate or other resident of a secure facilityaccesses the platform. The voicemail platform includes features providedby the call processing center 150.

The resident 690 may access the consolidated voicemail platform 399using a telephone system within the facility such as the one illustratedin FIG. 1. The platform 399 has a resident IVR interface 630 assigned tohandle resident requests. To access the resident IVR interface 630, theresident 690 must first log on to the system. The resident IVR interface630 prompts the resident 690 to enter a PIN assigned to that resident bythe facility. The PIN identifies the resident to the system. Forincreased security of certain functions, the system can support anoptional secondary PIN for each resident, the secondary PIN being usedspecifically for voicemail retrieval. That is, once the main PIN isentered, the resident would need to enter a second PIN to access thevoicemail. The use of a secondary PIN may be enabled globally on a perfacility basis or individually a per resident basis. In place of thesecondary PIN, a voice biometric authorization can also be used. Thevoice biometric authorization matches a sample of a callers voice to apre-recorded enrollment sample.

Once logged in to the resident IVR interface 630, the resident 690 ispresented with various options. The resident may choose to access aPrison Rape Elimination Action (PREA) voicemail box 660. This allowsresidents to report rape and sexual abuse in a secure and confidentialmanner. By leaving reports via voicemail instead of paper, the systemeliminates the need to store paper reports, yet still provides full,ID-verified accountability with the recorded message. The PREA voicemailbox 660 expedites the ability to respond to the reported case.

A PREA voicemail is stored in the global database 358. The complaint isdocumented and facility staff are automatically notified of a newcomplaint via a web interface discussed in more detail below. Thecomplaint is tracked and archived like any other call. The recording ofthe complaint allows third party “proof” of complaint, allowing facilitystaff to be audited in regards to their response and time to respond tothe incident. Additionally, staff are protected against erroneouscomplaints. PREA complaints can be reviewed by facility staff,investigators, and other authorized parties through the web interface.

A resident may also choose to leave a Kite voicemail 661. Kites arenormally a written form of communication within a jail system. Kites maybe used to make requests for medical treatment, property issues, housingconcerns, and communication with the court systems—probation, courts,and pre-trial services. The voicemail system allows residents to leavecomplaints or requests for facility administrators to review. A Kitevoicemail 661 is stored in the global database 358 and can be reviewedby authorized users via a web interface.

Using the resident IVR interface 630, a resident may choose to leave avoicemail or report a problem by using the customer service prompt 662.The customer service prompt 662 is used to enter service requests usingthe IVR interface 630 or leave voicemails for telephone customer servicerelated matters. This could include reports of malfunctioning equipment,requests for dropped-call refunds, voice ID reset requests, and otherrelated items.

The voicemail platform 399 also automates certain aspects of customerservice complaints. A resident may, for example, report that aconnection was dropped during a call. Using the customer service promptsin the resident IVR interface 630. The resident IVR interface 630 willprompt the resident to enter the number of the dropped call. The systemwill automatically check to determine if the resident actually calledthe number they are reporting. If the number is not found in theresident's history, the refund request is automatically rejected. Inaddition, if the time required to report the dropped call has expired,the resident may be denied a refund request. These measures reduce thenumber of fraudulent dropped call requests. If the number was called andif the time to report the problem has not elapsed, the refund is grantedand applied to the resident's account. The system can also enable humanreview of all dropped call requests prior to granting the refund. Acustomer service representative can retrieve and listen to the portionof the call where the dropped call was logged and verify that the callwas dropped.

The customer service prompt 662 in the resident IVR interface 630 alsoenables a resident to request a reset of a voice ID. Voice ID resets arerequired because sometimes different phone equipment in different areasof a facility will impact the Voice ID signature. Also, since the samewords must be spoken each time, sometimes residents forget what theysaid in their original recording. Customer service can review pastrecordings of the resident, and if the voice ID reset request isdetermined to be legitimate, the resident IVR interface 630 is updatedso that the resident is allowed to re-record their voice identificationclip the next time they access the system.

The resident may also use the resident IVR interface 630 to retrievevoicemail messages 663. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodimentof the process 700 used when a resident retrieves voicemail messages.After a resident lifts the telephone receiver and logs into the system(step 701), the system determines whether the resident has voicemailmessages that have not yet been listened to (step 702). If there are nomessages, the resident is returned to the main IVR prompt, which may bean outgoing call prompt (step 703). If there is voicemail to be played,and if the resident selects to listen to the voicemail (step 704), thenthe system retrieves the resident's voicemail message(s) (step 705) fromthe global database 358. In doing so, the system may access a callprocessing cluster other than the cluster that the resident is currentlyconnected to. If this is necessary, the voicemail message data is sentto the cluster currently accessed by the resident. Next, the voicemailmessage is played to the resident (step 706) and then, the voicemail ismarked as played and stored as an archived message in the globaldatabase 358 (step 707). Depending on the settings at the facility, theresident may be prevented from replaying voicemails that have alreadybeen played.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of the voicemail platform 399 andequipment used to access a web interface for the voicemail platform 399.A webserver 802 may be accessed, via the Internet 890, by administrators803, officials/investigators 804 or customer service personnel 805.These users are able to log onto a centralized voicemail web interfaceapplication 830 from any computer with an Internet browser using a username and password. The web interface application 830 enables theconfiguration and monitoring of communications at any of the multiplefacilities 100 (FIG. 1), depending on a user's authorization. The webinterface application 830 may be stored on an application node 257 (FIG.2) of a cluster 251-254 (FIG. 2) of the call processing center, and canpull data from the database node 258 (FIG. 2) of any available cluster.

Accessing the web interface application 830 via the webserver 802enables users with appropriate permissions to configure options for afacility or individual residents. For example, the web interfaceapplication 830 controls options such as requiring a second PIN toretrieve voicemail, blocking use by an institutional user, or blocking aspecific number from leaving a voicemail. Using the web interfaceapplication 830, authorized users can restrict access to voicemail basedon the facility, resident, or incoming number. Any of the variousconfiguration settings described herein can be set using the webinterface application 830, provided a user has the appropriateauthorization. Additionally, using the web interface application 830,customer service staff can review reports such as valid dropped callrequests. A list of dropped call requests is displayed, and actions(such as a refund) can be taken on the account in question.

The web interface application 830 also provides certain users withaccess to the global database 358. The global database 358 storesrecordings of calls 380 as well as voicemail recordings 382 and otherinformation. The global database 358 includes an index 381, whichindexes both types of recordings by institutional user, as well as bydestination number. This enables officials/investigators 804 andadministrators 803 to quickly search, locate, and listen to voicemailsand call recordings for any institutional user in any facility. Asdescribed above, the global database may be distributed across severalclusters of a call processing center 150.

The web interface application 830 prioritizes voicemails and calls intosortable lists, and enables playback of a recording via a computer. IfKite or PREA messages are available, certain users (i.e., officials orinvestigators) will be notified via the web interface application 830,by SMS message, or by email. The web interface allows facility officersto review the messages and record a response, which is placed in theresident's voicemail inbox and can be played back using the voicemailplayback system. The web interface allows requests to be approved,delegated, transferred, or denied, and provides a full audit trail ofall actions. In addition, since residents sign on using a PIN andpossibly a secondary identification prior to leaving a message, positiveID is provided, reducing abuse and fraud.

The above description and drawings are only to be consideredillustrative of specific embodiments, which achieve the features andadvantages described herein. Modifications and substitutions forspecific conditions and materials can be made. Accordingly, theembodiments are not considered as being limited by the foregoingdescription and drawings, but is only limited by the scope of theappended claims.

1. A system for providing voicemail services to a secure facility, thesystem comprising: a call processing center that is located outside thefacility and is configured to receive communications from a routerlocated at the facility; a database at the call processing center thatstores voicemail messages for a plurality of residents at the facility;a call interface at the call processing center configured to receive andstore voicemail messages for the residents at the facility; a residentinterface at the call processing center configured to provide theresidents of the facility with access to the stored voicemail messagesvia a telephone located at the facility; and a web server configured toprovide a plurality of authorized users access to the stored voicemailmessages via a website.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the callprocessing center comprises a plurality of clusters of computers atdifferent geographic locations.
 3. The system of claim 2, where thedatabase comprises a plurality of cluster databases stored at theplurality of clusters, and wherein the clusters communicate with oneanother to share information on the plurality of cluster databases. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the call processing center is configuredto receive internet protocol (IP) communications from the router via theInternet.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the router is configured toconnect to a first cluster of the plurality of clusters, and is furtherconfigured to connect to a second cluster of the plurality of clusterswhen the first cluster is unavailable.
 6. The system of claim 1 whereinthe call interface and the resident interface are interactive voiceresponse interfaces.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the callinterface is configured to check whether an outside caller haspermission to leave a voicemail message for a particular resident. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the call interface is configured todeduct funds from an account stored on the database after a voicemailmessage is left by the caller.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theresident interface is configured to receive and store Prison RapeElimination Act (PREA) messages on the database.
 10. The system of claim9, wherein the website is configured to notify authorized users ofstored PREA messages.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the residentinterface is configured to receive and store Kite messages on thedatabase.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the website is configuredto notify authorized users of stored Kite messages.
 13. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the resident interface is configured to receive andstore customer service messages on the database.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the website is configured to notify the authorized users ofstored customer service messages.
 15. A system for providing voicemailservices to a plurality of secure facilities, the system comprising: acall processing center that is located outside the plurality of securefacilities and is configured to receive communications from routerslocated at the facilities; a database at the call processing center thatstores voicemail messages for a plurality of residents at the pluralityof secure facilities; a call interface at the call processing centerconfigured to receive and store voicemail messages for the plurality ofresidents; a resident interface at the call processing center configuredto provide the plurality of residents with access to the storedvoicemail messages via a plurality of telephones located at theplurality of secure facilities; and a web server configured to provide aplurality of authorized users access to the stored voicemail messagesvia a website.
 16. A method of providing voicemail services to aresident of a secure facility, the system comprising: receiving atelephone call from a caller outside the secure facility; associatingthe caller with the resident; receiving a voicemail message from thecaller; storing the voicemail message on a database at a central callcenter that is outside the facility; receiving at the central callcenter, a request from the resident to retrieve the voicemail message;retrieving the voicemail message from the database; playing thevoicemail message to the resident; and providing an administrator withaccess to the voicemail message
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thestep of retrieving the voicemail message from the database includesretrieving the voicemail message from a database that is stored at adifferent geographic location than a computer that receives the requestfrom the resident.
 18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:determining whether the resident has permission to receive voicemailfrom the caller; and blocking the receiving the voicemail and thestoring the voicemail steps if the resident does not have permission.19. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving a PIN numberassociated with the resident from the caller.
 20. The method of claim16, wherein the step of associating the caller with a resident includeschecking a database to determine if the caller has previously left avoicemail for the resident.